Case Studies

Business Challenge

The IT team at Norton Radstock College tracks assets including laptops, servers, and software licenses. Using a spreadsheet to track assets proved largely inaccurate and resulted in wasted time, lost equipment, and frustration for the IT staff.

Solution

Implementing MobileAsset allowed Norton Radstock College to improve the efficiency of audits and eliminate time spent searching for lost or misplaced assets, saving two weeks per year of employee time. The IT staff can now instantly access asset information, including locations, due dates, and maintenance history.

Benefits

2 WEEKS asset audits then1 DAY asset audits then

Complete visibility has significantly reduced equipment loss

Simplified reports streamlined communication between IT and Accounting

Customer Profile

Located near Bath, the Norton Radstock College was established in 1947. As a Further Education College, NRC caters to adults and young people, with over 6,000 students enrolled.

MobileAsset has saved my team two weeks per year in time spent searching for misplaced assets.

- Phil Staples, Norton Radstock College

MobileAsset: The Smart Choice for Norton Radstock

Asset tracking without the right tools The Norton Radstock College, located 10 miles southwest of Bath, delivers continuing education curriculum to adults and young people. As the leading provider of vocational education in the area, Norton Radstock College partners with local employers to provide apprenticeship and training opportunities for students.

With current enrollment of over 6,000 students, the college’s IT department is responsible for tracking traditional IT assets including laptop computers and servers, as well as over 500 software titles. Although the IT team utilized a spreadsheet-based tracking system, staff spent a significant amount of time searching for lost or missing assets. “Our spreadsheet always seemed incorrect,” explains Phil Staples, head of IT at Norton Radstock College.

Seeking an asset tracking solution

Norton Radstock College needed a more efficient way to track IT assets. “I have used products from Wasp Barcode Technologies in the past, so I went straight to the Wasp website to find a solution,” Staples said.

Wasp MobileAsset fit the college’s needs, providing an easy, efficient way to track IT assets and software. MobileAsset allows the IT staff to see exactly what assets the college owns and where each item is located.

Norton Radstock College also purchased a solution that included a WPA1200 mobile device, which allows users to scan and update assets from current locations, and then sync the data back to the PC.

The road to improved efficiency

“Implementation was simple. We entered our assets into the database and determined our naming convention in 90 minutes,” Staples said. The IT team created barcoded asset tags for each individual item, making it easy to check assets in or out. Now, the IT team has complete visibility of asset locations and due dates, which has significantly reduced equipment loss.

Previously, conducting an audit of IT assets was complex and time consuming. The IT staff would spend hours searching for missing items. With MobileAsset, audit time has been reduced from a full business day to one hour. “MobileAsset has saved my team two weeks per year in time spent searching for misplaced assets,” Staples points out, “And my IT team doesn’t have to spend time doing jobs they consider unimportant and menial, although they are quite important.”

The software’s reporting features also allow the finance department to access essential data, without extensive product training. “MobileAsset has a lot of functionality, but is still accessible to a nontechnical end user,” comments Staples.

The software’s reporting features also allow the finance department to access essential data, without extensive product training. “MobileAsset has a lot of functionality, but is still accessible to a nontechnical end user,” comments Staples.

Wasp MobileAsset Norton Radstock College to:

Complete visibility has significantly reduced equipment loss

Simplified reports streamlined communication between IT and Accounting

Saves time, money and unnecessary asset spending

MobileAsset has saved my team two weeks per year in time spent searching for misplaced assets.- Phil Staples, Norton Radstock College

Wasp provides asset, stock, and time & attendance systems that are fairly priced, easily implemented, and ready-to-use after installation. Wasp listens to the needs of small business customers because of its passion to help each of those customers succeed.